Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Dec 10, 2009, 3:07 pm
This was the chicken and egg question of yesterday. Does a student need to enjoy school to do well? My initial thought was no. I hated school but still did well. ... but then, I was hardly the avera...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Dec 9, 2009, 5:24 am
WACOT released the following figures about Perth teachers in their latest publication InClass, found here. • 38,125 Registered Teachers • 7,749 Provisionally Registered Teachers • 363 Limited A...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Dec 8, 2009, 3:59 pm
yay!!! Q: How does Good King Wencelas like his pizza? A: Deep pan, crisp and even! Here's more and more and more. All cringeworthy! Don't forget to ask Santa to look after all those people ...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Dec 6, 2009, 6:33 am
Some students spend large amounts of time out of class. Some are ratbags that deliberately seek to be excluded, generally are of low IQ and are very difficult to help. Others purely lack social skills...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Dec 6, 2009, 6:08 am
Working in year 10, the opportunities for working in groups can be fairly limited - students rarely come ready for groups, so we need to train them how to work in them. Step 1. Firmly establish the r...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Dec 2, 2009, 7:31 am
When I entered teaching, my aim was to make a lasting difference in whatever school I was in. This meant contributing to the school, not just my own personal knowledge and skills. To do this I was alw...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Nov 30, 2009, 6:35 am
Hot on the heels of the last effort to cause prejudice against indigenous students by Julia Gillard, another well meaning idiot tries to load up the curriculum with ill advised nonsense. http://www.s...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Nov 26, 2009, 5:00 am
One criticism of senior school and mathematics in general is the lack of consolidation of topics - especially when the course is prescribed as is the case with NCOS. Funnily enough, the NCOS has broug...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Nov 22, 2009, 4:23 pm
There's a poll on the right hand side asking how we found the new courses - are they better than the ones they replaced? For parents who are interested: The harder parts of Intro Calc / G&T / Ap...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Nov 21, 2009, 10:49 pm
The 3B MAT course finished spot on 13 weeks (I used the remaining 6 weeks for revision and consolidation), which bodes well for the year 12 students moving into the course next year. The second semest...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Nov 13, 2009, 8:51 pm
Last year Julia Gillard forced through school report cards to be made available based on the statistically questionable NAPLAN results. She stated that league tables would not be made from them. Anyo...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Nov 13, 2009, 5:22 pm
I've added a new poll. The last poll clearly showed that maths is the greatest because calculus rocks, closely followed by 'because English teachers are all nuts' and 'you have to be l...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Nov 13, 2009, 4:02 pm
Saddler has released his 3C MAT/MAS books.. time to take a trip down to Wooldridges - $23.95 or so per book.
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Nov 13, 2009, 3:28 pm
I've been examining the issues with teaching surface area. Here's an approximate sequence: Prior knowledge required (easily takes 3 weeks+ yr 10 with a weak group filling gaps) Notation for ...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Nov 12, 2009, 5:05 am
I had a student once say "you're my favourite teacher" so I said to him, "I'm a maths teacher - is there a) something wrong with you or b) do you want something?" I did ask him why and he sai...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Nov 11, 2009, 5:23 am
I can think of four models for a school. These ideas underpin curriculum and pastoral decisions. Where a school understands its direction, it can drive staff and students accordingly. It is the major ...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Nov 11, 2009, 5:09 am
Small classes in public schools have been an bone of contention. The "no classes less than six students" policy caused a lot of angst when considering how to deal with talented students since it was i...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Nov 7, 2009, 10:30 pm
Administrative positions are seen as a career pathway for teachers. For two years I have said that this is a grave problem in the teaching system a) It takes good teachers away from the classroom b) ...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Nov 6, 2009, 3:42 pm
One of the nice traditions at school is for teachers of year 12 students to purchase the subject awards. The usual items tend to get bought: pens, shopping vouchers and the like. This year we found ...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Nov 2, 2009, 6:15 am
There's nothing like managing staff. It's a royal pain in the ... No matter what you do you can't please everyone. There are two main methods I've seen. a) By the book. b) With a win...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Nov 1, 2009, 2:31 am
The year 12's are starting their TEE exams next week, and we are all thinking about them. For many, schools have invested hour upon hour getting them ready for the highest stakes exam of all. See...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Oct 24, 2009, 7:02 pm
We were having a chat around dinner about the role of politics in education. I took the position that party politics had no place in education and others took the role of education is a necessary part...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Oct 24, 2009, 1:23 am
Students can surprise you. Yesterday, the year 12's graduated. For some it was a surprise - that despite numerous obstacles (some self created, others purely due to circumstance) they had somehow ...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Oct 20, 2009, 4:09 am
"Challenge"-itis: to act offended or abrupt if an existing decision is challenged as being ineffective or could be improved. "New idea"-itis: the need to deflect, ignore, be offended by or denigrate ...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Oct 19, 2009, 6:06 am
We've been looking for Living books for Mackenzie and found a local website that has a lot of educational software. Can't vouch for it yet, but it does seem to have a fair range. http://www.a...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Oct 15, 2009, 7:12 am
It's hard when the best thing for a school is not the best thing for a bunch of students. The articles on the half cohort floating around best illustrate what happens when budgets rule schools rat...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Oct 12, 2009, 5:47 pm
As with any material that makes you think, information was provided at yesterday's PD session that has the mind racing. In particular was the advice (not directive) to not publish anything online...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Oct 12, 2009, 3:20 am
The first Pupil Free Day worth going to. No PD of limited value, just an information session, an examination of needs of the school, some solution sessions and some planning time. Someone did a lot ...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Oct 10, 2009, 11:26 am
Came across this link in my travels - a site about games for educators. Also has a regular podcast. Though not specifically for educators, this one by Tom Vasel isn't too bad either. Updated 18/...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Oct 9, 2009, 9:45 pm
Ok, I admit it.. I'm a board game tragic.  During the week I bought Space Hulk, a game I remember from my youth.. It was a game I could never afford, so when it was re-released I picked up a ...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Oct 4, 2009, 6:55 am
It's easy to become jaded in teaching. You see it everyday. Yet there are those that stay fresh year in year out. I believe I'm discovering their secret. About two weeks ago, I said a shor...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Oct 2, 2009, 9:05 pm
University 4 year degree, WACOT, WWC, Federal police clearance, Curriculum Council and NCOS, National curriculum, ACARA & league tables, Scope and Sequence documents, moderation, compulsory PD, A...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Oct 1, 2009, 4:53 am
Today I was walking down the mall, baby and wife in tow.  It was a lovely day, baby was gurgling and we had just had a nice lunch in DJ's.  The counterpoint to all this sappy contentedne...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 27, 2009, 6:30 pm
If you're a fan of this game and haven't seen the free AI written by Keldon Jones - go and grab it, it's fantastic. If you're not a fan - don't bother, free or not you won'...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 27, 2009, 4:00 am
It's been noticed that year 10's can sometimes lack motivation.  Yelling at them can work for awhile (but unfortunately an authoritative style is not my style of teaching). I ai...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 27, 2009, 3:35 am
One of the best things about getting older is that you can afford some of the things you really, really wanted as a kid.  One thing that springs to mind is the out of print game Space H...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 25, 2009, 7:22 pm
Typically in an organisation, inspirational achievement is driven by recognition.  By inspirational achievement, I mean achievement that goes beyond organic or inertial achievement - achievement ...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 19, 2009, 7:31 pm
I was having a bit of a think this morning. An issue with vocations, charity and volunteer work is that monetary reward is rarely satisfying for those involved, it "cheapens" the attemp...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 19, 2009, 1:17 am
An interesting account of the effect of league tables to date. Click Here
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 18, 2009, 6:03 am
Today the federal government released the following report on professional learning.  I haven't read much of it, but have noticed that interest groups were included in the panel such as ...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 15, 2009, 7:30 am
Statements like "The Rudd Government believes it’s time we stopped averting our eyes from poor performance and ensure every Australian child is receiving a world class education" underlines a govern...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 14, 2009, 6:36 am
Should unsociable behaviour be accepted in our schools? I suppose this is the question that arises when we consider the role of schools in the community. Is it the primary role of schools to teach cu...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 13, 2009, 3:11 am
Wondering if your school has applied for independent public school status? Wonder no longer! Click here!
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 12, 2009, 6:44 am
Here's acknowledgement that ACARA will make mistakes when implementing league tables and that league tables have caused issues in other countries for those implementing them. I hope the Federal go...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 11, 2009, 7:39 am
There was a passing comment on the end of the Channel 2 news stating that the only net effect of smaller class sizes was more teachers. This is a bit of a bizarre statement. There is no problem with ...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 9, 2009, 2:26 pm
I listened to an inspiring sermon by our local minister last Sunday on the importance of community and how he was inspired by those he had worked with. This is ever so true in teaching as without supp...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 9, 2009, 1:18 pm
There's much talk about the place about being Erg'd. The expert review group comes to your school and makes adjustments to your teaching programme to improve results. I'm beginning to won...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 5, 2009, 6:38 pm
So here is week 8 again.. and this time week 8 term 3. This is the time where students and teachers are tired and under the stress of preparing for exams. If the nasties are to appear it usually is...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Sep 1, 2009, 5:52 pm
The half cohort is continuing to have impact on WA high schools. As predicted schools are losing FTE and may have to compromise their ability to provide a complete curriculum due to reduced staffing...
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Russell M. posted an article on Education WA - Aug 29, 2009, 7:22 pm
If you have a second to spare and want to play a great game, go grab a copy of Steam by Mayfair games for two, three - up to six players (more with an expansion or two). It's a bit thinky at first...
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